Matt Gurney: Work is stressful. Don’t make law school easier to cope with

Work is stressful. Don't make law school easier to cope with

The University of Toronto is considering changes to the grade system used at its law school. To avoid wracking their students’ nerves, the school might move away from traditional letter grades — A+, A, B, etc. — in favour of a less stressful model. The new system, if adopted, would see students grouped into categories such as High Honours, Honours, Pass, Low Pass and Fail.

Some of the students clearly think it’s a great idea. Speaking with local media, one of them commented that it’s really hard to be a law-school student “because of the competitive group of students law schools attract.” OK, here’s the problem with that. All of the people who go on to become lawyers are the people who do well among that competitive group of students. And while school is stressful, real life is worse. Not to be selfish here or anything, but before I go pay hundreds of dollars (or more) an hour to a lawyer who is helping me prepare a business deal, write up the paperwork that would see my family cared for in the event of my death or, maybe, trying to keep me out of prison, I’d like to know they can handle a bit of deadline pressure and a competitive work environment. After all, isn’t the entire point of our court system is that it is an adversarial process?

“Look, stress is inevitable with law, but there’s lots of evidence to show that developing some perspective and a healthy lifestyle is part of becoming a great advocate,” says the Dean of the law school. That’s true, as far as it goes. But it is incumbent upon the student (and later, potentially, the professional) to figure out how best to do that, not the school to make it easier to make it into the workforce. It would come as a shock for these students to discover only then that they can’t handle the pressure, thousands of dollars of tuition and a nervous breakdown or two later.

There are other reasons to look askance upon this plan. The idea that you can eliminate stress by simply calling the good and bad grades different things is asinine. If you’re a Type-A kid who can’t cope with stress, getting a “Fail” isn’t going to be any easier to swallow than an “F.” The students interviewed for the article discuss other forms of blowing off steam — dog walking, work-life balance, exercise — and that’s the right attitude to have. You cope by coping, not by making cosmetic, fundamentally irrelevant tweaks to the environment. And after periods of high stress, sure, blow off some steam. The exodus from the university exam room to the campus bar is a time-honoured tradition for a very good reason.

But the plan to make law school easier by changing the grading system isn’t simply silly. It’s wrong-headed. Certain professions demand the ability to function under high pressure. That’s why medical residents are worked to the bone — they need to learn how to handle tough, complex cases even after hours on their feet. That’s why soldiers and firefighters are required to show both peak physical fitness and the ability to make good decisions under almost unfathomable time pressure. Stressful environments and emotional pressure aren’t something unfairly foisted upon these professionals who would otherwise enjoy relaxed days at the office. The stress and pressure is a fundamental part of the job. The stress and pressure law school students endure is as much a part of their professional training as any assignment they do or case study they read.

If a student can’t cut it in the comparatively tame atmosphere of school, it’s better off for everyone involved if they find that out early. People who seek the guidance and expertise of a lawyer, usually to manage a difficult situation they can’t handle on their own, have a right to know that their hard-earned dollars are getting them someone who not only knows the law, but can hang in there when the going gets tough. If someone can’t handle getting a C, I don’t want them coming unglued when my life is on the line and the prosecutor says, “Objection.”